Cryptocurrency adds more coldness! "Bitcoin bull market leader" slashes target price for 2026, warning that Bitcoin may drop to $50,000

In Standard Chartered Bank, known as the "pioneer of the Bitcoin bull market", has warned that Bitcoin will continue to weaken further and has significantly reduced its target price for Bitcoin at the end of 2026. Additionally, after the unexpected loss in the fourth quarter by Coinbase Global Inc., the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets faced significant selling pressure in the Asian market on Friday. Standard Chartered Bank warned that Bitcoin may weaken further, coupled with the loss in the fourth quarter by the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, which affected the already subdued market sentiment. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies are facing continued pressure. The institution has reduced its year-end Bitcoin price prediction from $150,000 to $100,000 and warned that the cryptocurrency may fall to around $50,000 before stabilizing. As of writing, the world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was trading slightly above $66,000 during the Asian trading session on Friday. It had previously dropped as much as 4% to $65,079 during the New York trading session, hitting its lowest level of the week. Ethereum was trading around $1,940, also nearing its lowest point of the week. At the beginning of last week, as Bitcoin briefly fell below $60,000, the sell-off in cryptocurrencies intensified, recording the worst single-day decline since November 2022. This widespread selling also indicated a liquidity crisis in the cryptocurrency market, leading to a crisis of trust in Bitcoin. The trading price of Bitcoin briefly saw a strong rebound last Friday, but has since been fluctuating between $65,000 and $70,000. A senior analyst at Compass Point stated that after a recent round of irrational panic-selling, this largest cryptocurrency may be close to bottoming out. Recent data shows that Bitcoin has just received new buy support from some of its largest holders, but the return of demand remains narrow, leading to doubts as to whether this signifies a recovery in risk appetite in the cryptocurrency market or is simply a measure by these Bitcoin whales to control their losses. So-called "Bitcoin whales" wallets accumulated around 53,000 Bitcoins in the past week, marking the largest round of buying since November, following several weeks of heavy selling by these large holders. This buying helped stabilize the price after a significant retracement, even though most institutional investors remained inactive. Data from the industry research firm Glassnode showed wallets holding over 1,000 Bitcoins increased their holdings by over $4 billion worth of the cryptocurrency during this period, interrupting months of selling that had caused Bitcoin to drop about 40% from its highs in October. What signals? "Bitcoin bull market pioneer" warns of further weakness and downward target price Geoffrey Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered Bank, wrote in a research report, "We expect further weakness in price and dramatic selling pressure in the coming months." He particularly pointed out the continuous outflow of funds from Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and the weakening macroeconomic backdrop and market risk sentiment in the United States. Standard Chartered Bank, known as the "pioneer of the Bitcoin bull market," accurately predicted the unprecedented bull market trajectory of Bitcoin at the end of 2023 and has since been an advocate of Bitcoin, but the latest research report shows that the institution's investment stance on Bitcoin has shifted to caution. Standard Chartered Bank is one of the large institutions that has traditionally been bullish on the Bitcoin bull market. In the report, Standard Chartered Bank lowered its year-end Bitcoin price prediction from $150,000 to $100,000, which was previously $300,000 just a few months ago. The investment institution warned that the world's largest cryptocurrency could even plummet to $50,000 before stabilizing. Bitcoin briefly dropped below $60,000 last week, down more than 45% from its peak of over $126,000 in October, and has repeatedly failed to sustain a rebound, indicating that speculative demand is thinning. At the same time, the total market capitalization of the wider cryptocurrency market has evaporated by nearly $2 trillion. Tony Sycamore, Market Analyst at IG Australia, wrote in a report, "From a technical perspective, as long as Bitcoin holds around $58,000 near the 200-week moving average it successfully rebounded from this level last Friday there is still room for upside recovery to resistance levels at $73,000$75,000." "However, if it continues to fall below the key $60,000/$58,000 range, it is likely to open the door to a deeper retracement, pointing to the next key support range around $40,000." Damien Loh, Chief Investment Officer at Ericsenz Capital, stated that market sentiment is being influenced by concerns about risky assets, such as the massive sell-off of other asset classes (such as software stocks), which "will open up greater downside space for cryptocurrencies." Coinbase's plight impacting cryptocurrency prices Meanwhile, Coinbase Global Inc. reported a loss of $667 million in the fourth quarter, with total revenue falling significantly to $1.8 billion, more than 20% below market expectations, highlighting the impact of the continuous decline in cryptocurrency prices on cryptocurrency trading activities. This is just one of the multiple challenges that the cryptocurrency exchange faced on Thursday. Before the financial report was officially released, some customers reported encountering issues with buying, selling, and transferring operations on the company's website, prompting Coinbase to post on the X social network to assure users that "your funds are safe." It subsequently announced that "the issue has been resolved." At the same time, Wall Street investment research firm Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. downgraded Coinbase's stock rating to "sell," stating that given the typically longer duration of bear markets in cryptocurrencies, assuming that the market will steadily recover is both "foolish" and "facile." Under multiple bearish factors, Coinbase's stock price fell for three consecutive days, dropping by about 8% to $141. The stock has already fallen by 37% this year.